CSPS: A small but stable society

The Canadian Society of Patristic Studies/Association Canadienne des Ètudes Patristiques (CSPS/ACÈP), founded in 1975, is dedicated to the study of early Christianity and its various contexts in Late Antiquity, drawing members from various disciplines from across Canada and internationally. The society welcomes and nurtures new scholars and seasoned members alike. Members are exposed to and discuss a broad range of patristic-related topics at the annual meeting because sessions normally run consecutively (not concurrently). Topics of particular interest in recent years include early Christian exegesis, material culture, Gnosticism (the Nag Hammadi texts, in particular), and Syrian patristics. It is a friendly, supportive, and rigorous academic environment in which to present one's work. The society strives to continue its bilingual roots as well as support new initiatives for the study of patristics in Canada.

The Image of the Feminine in the Gospel of Philip

This chapter considers a text that is often considered ‘Gnostic’ in character. ‘The Image of the Feminine in the Gospel of Philip: An Innovative Assimilation of Paul’s Gender Legacy in the Valentinian Milieu’ explores the richness of images of the feminine preserved in the Coptic Gospel of Philip and their significance to the life of the Christian community. It assesses?the diversity and dichotomy of the feminine symbolism in?relevant documents from Nag Hammadi. In this context the study highlights the importance and creativity of Philip’s construction of?the feminine.?The chapter also offers a discussion of?the assimilation of the Pauline exegesis of the story of the creation of Adam and Eve by this document.?On that basis the chapter shows the original trajectory of the Gospel, which goes beyond the Pauline legacy, to serve the needs of its audience. Finally, as the Gospel of Philip pays a great deal of attention to the value of Christian teaching (exegesis) and the sacraments, the essay addresses the vital question: could?Christian women?take an active role in teaching and worship in the light of this Gospel and its gender construction?

Women in Gnosticism

This chapter goes further along this track in ‘Women in Gnosticism’, noting that real women are difficult to find from the sources conventionally identified as ‘Gnostic’. The few that are mentioned in a variety of sources—Marcellina, Flora, and Flavia Sophē—remain enigmatic, mere fleeting mentions that force us to draw on all our resources to reconstruct even the barest contours of their lives. In every case, however, these women appear to have irritated and scandalized the pious self-proclaimed arbiters of Christian ‘orthodoxy’. Sadly, however, these women do not seem to have had better spiritual lives in ‘Gnostic’ circles; there, too, they encountered men ready to take advantage of the power differential evident in Roman imperial Christian culture, such as it was at the time. To be perhaps less pessimistic, however, the language and imagery of ‘Gnostic’ documents—particularly those found at Nag Hammadi—contain often startling plays on sexual politics in the spiritual realm. At times, these result in sweeping cosmic dramas that place human women not merely as victims of male spiritual malevolence but as heroines who are able to transcend their earthly fates because there is a place, even in the highest heavenly realms, where ‘the feminine’ holds sway; beyond that, even, gender differences melt away and are absorbed into an absolute, genderless oneness of existence.